I am conflicted on whether I should take the test again or not.
It depends on the college. Google common data set, name of college. Find the section that lists students test score. See where your scores fall. If your scores are below the 50th percentile, , it will be harder to be accepted. I would take the test again. If you study, you can probsbly raise your score.
Not sure that would be a good score for our state uni (UConn) However, it’s difficult to figure out without seeing the rest of your stats (GPA, ECs, etc.)
It would be a low score for places like UMass and UConn. It would make UVa, UMich and UNC out of reach.
Totally depends on the state. Look up the schools on your list on one of the numbers-focused search sites like ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ or collegedata.com
It depends upon the state, the school, and your other stats. However, if you didn’t do much preparation then I think that you should do more preparation work and retake the test. SAT preparation can help a lot.
Note that 1040 is somewhere around 59th percentile for all students, but only about half of all high school students go on to any form of college. As such it is towards the low end of “all students who go on to college or university”. Getting this up to say 1140 or even 1100 would make a pretty big difference.
Regarding the comment above “…a low score for places like UMass” I assume that this means UMass Amherst. For UMass Dartmouth 1040 is actually pretty good.
@chrisd5555: Itd be a low score for most state flagships and, depending on the State, for some first tier universities or directionals (on par with ncsu, uncw, Appalachian State, or UVA, vtech, wm, jmu, gmu, or PSU, pitt, or UMass, or most UC’s…)
If you’ve taken the test fewer than four times, prep seriously through Khan academy, review your mistakes till you destroy them one by one, and retake till you reach 3-4 attempts.
If you’ve already taken the test four times or more, it’s probably a good indication of the colleges you can aim for: adjust your list in consequence.
You should take the test again. What year will you be going into? You have a lot of room for improvement which means it could be easy to move your score up by at least 200 points.
Retaking the test can only help provided you study for it. 1040 is a very risky score
Likely not good enough for more state flagship, may be fine for some minor state college.
As mentioned above, it depends on which state schools you’re interested in. For many state schools, even some flagships (for example, West Virginia University), your score is fine.
Just to add, this is my highest of 3 scores, and I have prepared for all of them.
Thank you all for the suggestions so far. I’ll definitely take them into account.
@chrisd55555 Have you considered taking the ACT?
“may be fine for some minor state college”
But we should keep in mind that 1040 SAT and a so called “minor state college” are still well ahead of what the average American scores on the SAT and where the average American goes to school (which is actually not at all for the 50th percentile).
“this is my highest of 3 scores, and I have prepared for all of them.”
This then might be one indication of the universities or colleges that you should be aiming at. Your high school GPA is of course another indication. There are thousands of universities and colleges in the US, and a 1040 SAT is going to be fine for the majority of them, if they even require the SAT at all.
If you have taken the SAT three times I would say don’t worry about it, and move on.
A 1040 is thus a good indication of what university you should be aiming for.
What state do you live in?